The Pretty One (2013) Reviews

• A heartfelt and beautiful film

  Zahira262014-06-16

  Zoe Kazan and Jake Johnson are stunning in this film! A quirky gem in the vein of Safety Not Guaranteed, Ruby Sparks, Drinking Buddies, Enough Said and The Spectacular Now. Although the storyline may be a bit out there, it is very believable and enjoyable. There are some poignant moments that are beautifully portrayed and you can relate to many of the characters in some way. The Perfect One is worth the watch. p.s. I loved the wardrobe they used in this film, think Girls meets Pretty Little Liars. I was upset there weren't more special features on the DVD!

• The Pretty One isn't great, but it's a very entertaining film

  Argemaluco2014-06-24

  The Pretty One is a pleasant indie "dramedy" cooked with the habitual ingredients from the genre: a simple screenplay, but not lacking of some deepness; funny characters who are too picturesque to exist in the real world; and a narrative sensibility which cunningly occupies the intersection between art-house cinema and the commercial one. That description might sound a bit cynical, but it doesn't darken my appreciation for the various pros of The Pretty One, which I liked pretty much despite some forced details from the screenplay and its kinda cloying manufacture. To start with, the performances from Zoe Kazan and Jake Johnson are very good. I always like those actors' work, even though they tend to play the same character over and over again (Kazan, adorable "Phoebe", and Johnson, adorable loser). But, as long as they keep bringing such good works in those roles, I will keep enjoying their performances. Kazan and Johnson have a perfect chemistry with each other, something which helps to cover some weak details from the screenplay. For example, the premise feels occasionally improbable, even though it's raised with enough logic in order to accept it for the sake of entertainment. After all, The Pretty One doesn't aspire to the raw realism from Hesher or Smashed (to put a pair of indie examples), but it occupies the idealized universe from films such as In Your Eyes and Juno, where the characters are sublimations of narrative archetypes, and the dialogs are impossibly eloquent and colorful. But the artifice works because the emotions feel real, and because of that, The Pretty One survives some not very credible coincidences, forced revelations and moments of a doubtful humor. Besides, in order to season the recipe a little bit, screenwriter Jeneé LaMarque (who was also the director) makes sporadic explorations to the meaning of identity, and its narrow (and sometimes contradictory) relationship with our public perception. Is it more important to know who we are, or who the people think we are? That's an interesting concept which brings a slight philosophical basis to the film. In conclusion, I recommend The Pretty One with confidence, because despite not being something great, it kept me very entertained, it made me think a bit and, for the first time in a long while, I was genuinely interested in the romantic aspect.

• Once I Accepted the Premise the Movie Grew On Me

  larrys32014-06-03

  Once I accepted the premise of this movie, which in itself is not easy to do, it grew on me and overall I came to like it. In my opinion, this is the type of movie that if one just goes with the flow, and doesn't try to look too closely beneath the plot surface, it can be enjoyable. Zoe Kazan does a fine job here, starring in a dual role of the identical twin sisters Laurel and Audrey. They're polar opposites in personality, with Laurel being introverted and self-doubting, while Audrey is outgoing and vivacious. Laurel is still living at home with her father Frank (John Carroll Lynch) with whom she has a co-dependent relationship, while Audrey has a successful career going in real estate and owns a duplex in town. However, one day while driving together they get distracted, and end up in a terrible head-on collision, where Laurel is seriously injured and Audrey is killed. Due to the fact that Laurel is wearing an ID bracelet imprinted with Audrey's name on it (which Audrey had just given to Laurel on their birthday to be a constant reminder of her), the doctors and even Frank think that Audrey survived the crash and that Laurel was the one killed. When Laurel is diagnosed with post-traumatic amnesia a lot of any inconsistencies can be explained away. Since Laurel thinks her life compared to her sister's was miserable, Laurel decides to maintain the charade, eventually moves into the duplex and even Audrey's job. At the duplex, she meets her tenant Basel, very effectively portrayed by the underrated actor Jake M. Johnson, whose performance in "Drinking Buddies" I liked quite a lot. Basel is quite the nice guy, selling used books over the internet and loaning others to neighborhood kids. You can see the attraction building between Basel and Laurel, and I thought the chemistry between the two worked exceptionally well. However, as circumstances will eventually warrant, Laurel may have to disclose who she really is, causing all kinds of reactions and chaos. Overall, I thought this film ably written and directed by Jenee Lamarque, can lose its' way at times, but can also be poignant and humorous as well, and as mentioned if one is willing to just accept the premise there are rewards here, in my opinion.

• Though we are used to seeing twins swap places, how about a twin swapping places after one dies?

  Amari-Sali2014-06-10

  This was another film that premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival a year ago that I just couldn't get to. Which is unfortunate because it had Zoe Kazan in it, Jake Johnson, and even a small appearance from Danny Pudi. But, as with all Tribeca Film Festival movies, a year after you have likely forgotten about the movie, it randomly becomes available. Then you get to learn whether fate spared you spending $10+ or if you truly missed out on something great. Characters & Story In the film we are introduced to a set of twins comprised of Laurel and Audrey (Zoe Kazan) who are complete opposites. Laurel is the forgettable plain Jane who pretty much has yet do much in her 20+ years of life, besides baby her dad Frank (John Carroll Lynch) as if he was sickly. As for Audrey, she is the enviable twin. For despite looking the same, people find something about Audrey that makes her more beautiful than Laurel, more attractive than Laurel, and with Audrey's success, you can see a bit of jealousy. So when Laurel and Audrey get into a car accident, and everyone goes to the hospital and assumes Laurel died, Laurel takes this opportunity to take on the life of Audrey. Leading us to watch as Laurel amazingly adjust rather quickly to Audrey's life, and while it is depressing for her how people talk about her after "she" dies, she finds solace in her moments with Basel (Jake Johnson). But with her assuming Audrey's life there comes the question if as she finds love, and even maybe friendship, is it because she is Laurel or because everyone thinks she is Audrey? Praise When it comes to this film I must say that I do believe that when New Girl wraps that Jake Johnson could have quite a career going for him. He has the same look and comic appeal of Seth Rogen and Jonah Hill, the slightly unkempt, borderline middle age guy, but with his characters not seemingly over obsessed with dick jokes, among other things, you can actually imagine this guy being attractive to a young lady, or sir if he ever does a movie like that. With that said, arguably he is the saving grace for the film. If just because he is the sole one who delivers energy to his role and has any sense of personality. Criticism Meanwhile the rest of the characters all seem two dimensional, even when dealing with Laurel's would-be death. I say this because everyone seems to really lack a personality, or any sense of energy. Kazan for example, as the boring twin Laurel, rarely ever shows off why she is the lead in this movie besides being cute. The story doesn't allow Laurel to find being Audrey overly complicated, and in fact she adapts to it rather quickly. Laurel also doesn't have a great emotional depth, and really while Lynch has his moments, even he seems like he is forcing himself to care in his scenes. Hence why Johnson is the sole person I praised. He truly to me was the only one who had any personality, even if it was the same one he has in the majority of his roles. Overall: Skip It The Pretty One feels like an underdone movie. The lack of energy and personality out of the majority of the cast made it so about halfway I was in the mindset of just not watching the rest. For while Johnson did help me push myself to watch till the end, it truly was a struggle. Hence why I'm labeling this a "Skip It" film. The actors may have shown up and did their lines, but with them doing so with 0 enthusiasm and with a story which gives you no reason to care about the characters or what they've been through, I don't see why you should waste your time.

• don't bother with this one

  dzianakisliuk2014-07-04

  so let me start off by saying this movie is not worth your time, you might think oh it looks cute, but I assure you its not, its a really sad story of a girl finding herself, and how does she do that? through a guy! and let me just say that after her sister died she didn't seem to care at all... and this is the same sister she seemed to look up to. the writing was also pretty bad I mean they actually had the line "well, I never" . I mean the only good thing about this movie is Jake Jhonson's acting and, I mean I can see why Zoe Kazan isn't a famous actress her sad, scared, confused, or really anything but happy looks the same. and don't get me started on the soundtrack this movie had, just take my advice and go watch something else because the trailer is better than the movie itself